The historical ethnography of the Micmac of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries / Bernard Gilbert Hoffman.: R32-417/1955E-PDF

"Due to the early disappearance of many aboriginal groups from their former habitats in northeastern North America to the cultural decline of those who remained, to the difficulty of reconstructing non-Westem cultures from historical sources, those students dealing with native life in the Northeast and Woodland areas of North America have long worked under a serious handicap. Although much important and valuable work was done, both among still existing groups and among museum collections, little attempt was made to reconstruct the ancient cultures from the then existing historical materials. The reconstructions that were made during the last part of the 19th century not only ignored the greater part of the available ethnographical information, but were ahistorical and pseudohistorical, proceeding through the use of improved and highly questionable theories of culture origin and spread. Although many valuable points and problems were brought to light, the contribution to the factual base remained slight. It is the aim of this, work, therefore, to present a reconstruction, as far as possible, of the culture of a native American group immediately after contact and shortly before it. The Micmac Indians of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have been selected as the object of this descriptive study"--Introduction, p. 1.

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Publication information
Department/Agency Treaties and Historical Research Centre (Canada)
Title The historical ethnography of the Micmac of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries / Bernard Gilbert Hoffman.
Publication type Monograph
Language [English]
Format Electronic
Electronic document
Note(s) Title from cover.
Digitized edition from print [produced by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada].
Includes bibliographical references.
Part 1 - Table of contents and Chapter I - Introduction -- Part 2 - Chapter II - History of Acadia and the Micmac -- Part 3 - Chapter III - Micmac tribal identity and affiliations -- Part 4 - Micmac ecology -- Part 5 - Chapter V - The life of the individual -- Part 6 - Chapter VI - The Micmac and the supernatural -- Part 7 - Chapter VII - Social life -- Part 8 - Chapter VIII - Feasts and diversions -- Part 9 - Chapter IX - Conclusions -- Part 10 - Bibliography.
Publishing information [Ottawa?] : Claims and Historical Research Centre, 1955.
Author / Contributor Hoffman, Bernard G.
Description 10 v. : maps
Catalogue number
  • R32-417/1955E-PDF
Subject terms Indians
Aboriginal culture
Canadian history
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